Camille Olson Quoted in Law360
"Supreme Court Won't Take Up WARN Suit Against DHL"

Seyfarth Shaw Labor & Employment partner Camille Olson was quoted in Law360 on October 3. The article discussed a recent Supreme Court decision rejecting a petition for a writ of certiorari from two ex-DHL workers who challenged previous rulings that DHL Express Inc.'s decision to stop its U.S. domestic shipping services and close five Chicago-area facilities did not warrant protections under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).

The plaintiffs also sought determination of what would be considered a "voluntary" departure under the act, because they argued that the Seventh and Ninth circuits were split over the definition. However, the plaintiffs were unsuccessful in trying to convince the appeals court that DHL convinced some employees to settle for severance packages.

DHL was excused from WARN notice obligations since the company was allowed to count employees who decided to take the voluntary severance packages as voluntary departures.

Camille agreed with the Supreme Court's decision and pointed out that the WARN Act hasn't been amended since it was enacted. With regard to where the plaintiffs saw the split between the Seventh and Ninth circuits, Camille said they were "readily distinguishable," adding, "It was clear that there was no reason for the Supreme Court to intervene."